(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a problem diagnosis method and problem repair method for a laser device and programs for carrying out these methods, and particularly relates to methods for automatically diagnosing and repairing problems in laser devices caused by deterioration of optical parts and the like. For the purposes of this application, the expression “laser device” shall refer broadly to devices that use laser beams for medical, industrial or other applications, including laser treatment devices used in the medical field to perform therapy or surgery on affected parts of the body, or laser processing devices used for processing materials and the like in the industrial field. Additionally, the expression “problem” shall refer generally to situations in which malfunctions or deteriorations occurring in the components of a laser device such as optical parts impairs the ability of the components to perform their intended functions.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In the medical field, laser devices are widely used for the purposes of treatment or diagnosis. Carbon dioxide lasers and flash lamp-pumped neodium (Nd) ion-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) lasers are often used for cutting soft tissues and performing hemostasis. Additionally, discharge-pumped argon fluoride (ArF) excimer lasers are used to perform corrective surgery on the cornea of the eye. Furthermore, erbium (Er)-doped YAG lasers are used for boring into the hard tissues of the teeth.
Laser devices including laser devices for medical applications have a warm-up time which is required to raise the device overall to a standard temperature in order to stabilize the output optical power. A mechanism may be provided to detect the temperature and flow rate of coolant, and leakage of electric current in the power supply of the excitation lamp after the warm-up time has passed using various sensors in order to find any anomalies in the operation of the laser device, and activating an interlock to stop the laser device if, for example, the measured values are below a predetermined threshold value. A system for detecting various types of data relating to a laser device and stopping the device if an anomaly has been found to occur in the device is described, for example, in Japanese Patent Application, First Publication No. H8-97778.
When an operational anomaly occurs in an anomaly detecting system such as described above, the user is notified that the device is in an anomalous state of operation by a warning tone or a warning display on a screen adjoined to the laser device. The user then contacts a maintenance worker to perform inspections and repairs, and waits until the maintenance worker arrives.
Additionally, in many models, when there is a decrease in output optical power due to deterioration of the optical parts but within such a range that it is not judged to be an operational anomaly, the input voltage is increased to compensate for the reduction in optical output, as a result of which the optical part which is the cause of the decreased output can be overloaded and thereby irretrievably damaged. The user often only becomes aware of a malfunction in a device, and can therefore only request repair by a maintenance worker, after the problem has already had an adverse effect on medical or processing work
With the above anomaly detecting methods, a maintenance worker is not contacted until an anomaly occurs in the laser device, so that discovery of a malfunction can be delayed and the laser device can be heavily damaged, thus requiring a lot of time to perform repairs. For example, if a laser device used for a medical application is severely damaged, it will not be possible to perform the medical treatments until the damage is repaired. Additionally, when a malfunction occurs, the user is not able to perform repairs and must contact a maintenance worker and wait until the maintenance worker finishes the repairs, thus giving rise not only to repair costs but also to lost opportunity costs as the laser device is left unused during the wait.